NearDrop is a partial implementation of Google's Nearby Share for macOS.

Protocol documentation is available separately.

The app lives in your menu bar and saves files to your downloads folder. It's that simple, really.

• Wi-Fi LAN only. Your Android device and your Mac need to be on the same network for this app to work. Google's implementation supports multiple mediums, including Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth, some kind of 5G peer-to-peer connection, and even a WebRTC-based protocol that goes over the internet through Google servers. Wi-Fi direct isn't supported on macOS (Apple has their own, incompatible, AWDL thing, used in AirDrop). Bluetooth needs further reverse engineering.
• Visible to everyone on your network at all times while the app is running. Limited visibility (contacts etc) requires talking to Google servers, and becoming temporarily visible requires listening for whatever triggers the "device nearby is sharing" notification.

Download the latest build from the releases section, unzip, move to your applications folder. When running for the first time, right-click the app and select "Open", then confirm running an app from unidentified developer.

If you want the app to start on boot, follow these steps to add NearDrop as a login item.

brew install grishka/grishka/neardrop

Pull requests that change the readme will not be accepted.

Right-click the app in Finder and select "Open". Or, open System Settings -> Privacy and security, scroll down and allow the app to run.

Make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network. Local network communication may not work on some public networks — for example, in coffee shops or hotels. If you're on your own network, check your router settings to make sure it's not blocking local devices from talking to each other.

Right-click a file in Finder, select Share, then select NearDrop.

From the menu bar: File -> Share -> NearDrop. Safari also has a share button on the toolbar.

Unfortunately, Android listens for specific BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) broadcasts to automatically become visible, and macOS doesn't allow apps to send them. As a workaround, you have to open the "Google Files" and tap "Receive" on the "Nearby Share" tab.

To make it more easily accessible and/or if you don't want to install Google Files, you can use an app like one of these to create a shortcut to launch one of these activity intents:

• Option 1:
  • Action: com.google.android.gms.RECEIVE_NEARBY
  • Mime type: */*
• Option 2:
  • Component name: com.google.android.gms/.nearby.sharing.ReceiveSurfaceActivity

Yes. Drag the icon off the menu bar while holding cmd. To bring it back, launch the app a second time, while it's already running.

Make sure you have "do not disturb" off. The notification may also sometimes (rarely) end up in the notification center without being shown as a popup first — I'm not sure why this happens.